Chemical and/or biological analysis is important for life sciences research, clinical diagnostics and a wide range of environmental and process monitoring. In some cases, an analyzer is used to perform and/or assist in performing a chemical and/or biological analysis of a sample fluid. The sample fluid may be a liquid or a gas, depending on the application.
Some analyzers include an instrument that receives a removable, and in some cases, a disposable cartridge. In such analyzers, a sample fluid is often introduced or otherwise provided to the removable cartridge, and the instrument, through one or more interfaces, interacts with the removable cartridge to help perform and/or control the desired chemical and/or biological analysis. The interfaces may include, for example, fluid interfaces, electrical interfaces and/or other types of interfaces, depending on the application. The integrity of the interfaces is often important to the functioning of the overall device. For example, fluid interfaces often convey one or more fluids (either liquid or gas fluids) between the removable cartridge and the instrument, and/or visa-versa, and it is often desirable for the fluid interfaces to be substantially leak-free, reliable and cost effective.